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What makes the Yixing pots special is the unglazed clay that they are made of. "Zisha" clay is found in the hilly areas around Yixing and no where else. Zisha is often referred to as purple clay, though it actually comes in other colours too (light brown to red). The collecting of teapots is a popular hobby these days, and many collectors focus solely on Yixing teapots. The highest price ever paid for one was $70,000US at a sale in Macau. The clay is not chemically remarkable, consisting of quartz, kaolin, mica and iron oxide. It's the iron oxide that gives the reddish colour to the clay. That pot wasn't even an antique. It was made in 1995 by the artist Gu Jingzhou.
It wasn't until 1954 that the Chinese government established communes for the purpose of gathering together the old master potters to recruit and train a new generation of potters, thus insuring that the great traditions would be preserved. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in China, leaf infusion as we know it now became popular. The earliest examples of teapots come from this period, made from the zisha, or "purple" clay, of the YiXing region of China. Pottery in the YiXing tradition has been strong since the Sung Dynasty (960-1279); wares are valued for their fine texture, thin walls, and naturally beautiful coloration ranging from light buff to deep maroon tones. The transition from drinking bowls to teapots was a smooth one. YiXing teapots were, and still are, used to brew tea as well as act as the drinking vessel -- one sips directly from the spout of a single-serving pot. YiXing teapots gradually season, the unglazed clay absorbing the flavor of brewed tea, making them a favorite choice for tea lovers. The dissemination of YiXing teapots greatly influenced not only the forms of teapots found throughout the world, but also prompted the invention of hard-paste porcelain in the western world.
There are two legends about the invention of tea. Some attribute the discovery of tea to Shen Nung, a Chinese Emperor in the 3rd century BCE, who sat under a tree while boiling his drinking water. When the leaves of Camellia sinensis fell into his bowl, the agreeable taste prompted the genesis of tea drinking. An alternative account gives credit to a Dharuma Buddhist monk who travelled to China from India in the 5th century CE. During his fifth year of a seven year meditiation undertaken to prove his faith, he became sleepy. In an effort to remain focussed he cut off his offending eyelids and threw them onto the ground, whence sprang the tea plant. He decided to make a drink from the leaves and discovered it kept him awake, allowing him to pursue his spiritual studies. This process continued despite the difficulties of the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s.
The renowned properties of the purple clay used in making our Yixing (pronounced ee-shing) teapot were discovered around one thousand years ago. The porous nature of the clay allows the pot to absorb the flavors of your tea over time and add to the quality of your brew.
It was here during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 CE) that the world's first teapots
were created. During the years that followed, the distinctive reddish stoneware
teapots of Yixing came to be considered the "best vessel for brewing tea"
by Chinese tea aficionados. In the late 17th century Yixing teapots were introduced
to Europe along with the first tea shipments, and provided the models for the
earliest Dutch, German and English teapots.